Agreed. There are plenty of youtube videos of people being instructed to do squats on top of a bosu ball by "trainers."
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Cross Fit Gaf.. Why should I pay $200 a month for CrossFit?
- Thread starter Schattenjäger
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Agreed. There are plenty of youtube videos of people being instructed to do squats on top of a bosu ball by "trainers."
Omegasquash
Member
Sounds like a weekend sales training course to me.
crimsondynamics
Member
Those DVD sets give you a lot of good routines and diet plans that yes, can be obtained elsewhere, but it's all presented to you in a convenient package and unlike memberships, it's a one-time fee.
From there you can get tons of ideas for exercises. Coupled with some Youtube videos and discipline you really don't need a gym membership.
I find the greatest challenge is to keep motivated by doing the same exercises over and over again which is why I try to mix things up a lot but I won't ever pay for a gym membership that's for sure.
in my opinion, 200 a month is a bit to pricy. i know it is NYC, and i guess everything generally speaking is more expensive due to location, but thats a lot of money to be shelling out to me. a normal gym membership is probably 30-50 a month where i live and i pay 170 a month for my wife and i at our crossfit gym. if a normal gym membership is 60-80, paying 200 for a CF affiliate might be reasonable.
you are paying extra for having an instructor and someone coaching what you are doing, not for the 'gym'. everyone is correct in saying 'you could do it yourself with a book' but i feel like you get more out of having a good coach watching your form and helping you get the movements down correctly. this is especially true if you dont have any background in weightlifting techniques and are really starting from scratch, which was the case with me.
if i didnt feel like i was getting good, correct instruction and coaching at my gym, it certainly wouldnt be worth it. qualified coaches are a must. there are 4 crossfit gyms in the area that i live- 2 of them are total jokes and are run by people who 'always wanted to own a gym'.
the amount of CF hate on neogaf is overwhelming and is why i largely ignore the fitness thread. its no different than the nutrition threads in that respect as well- everyone is an expert.
you are paying extra for having an instructor and someone coaching what you are doing, not for the 'gym'. everyone is correct in saying 'you could do it yourself with a book' but i feel like you get more out of having a good coach watching your form and helping you get the movements down correctly. this is especially true if you dont have any background in weightlifting techniques and are really starting from scratch, which was the case with me.
if i didnt feel like i was getting good, correct instruction and coaching at my gym, it certainly wouldnt be worth it. qualified coaches are a must. there are 4 crossfit gyms in the area that i live- 2 of them are total jokes and are run by people who 'always wanted to own a gym'.
the amount of CF hate on neogaf is overwhelming and is why i largely ignore the fitness thread. its no different than the nutrition threads in that respect as well- everyone is an expert.
This. The structure of P90X is a huge part of what helped me get into better shape.
Burger
Member
The psychological & motivational aspects of P90X are pretty great. You feel like you are letting Tony down if you skip a day.
D
Deleted member 47027
Unconfirmed Member
We usually just don't talk about Crossfit unless someone else brings it up.
You're paying for the CLASSES. Small classes, personal attention, better classes than you'll get in a globo gym, better culture than at a normal gym. My sister goes to crossfit, she left the class early without telling anyone and the instructor emailed her later asking if she was okay. It's not the same thing at all.
I mean I disagree with some of their practices for sure but there is a value proposition there if you're serious about fitness and want to find others who share that passion.
toxicgonzo
Taxes?! Isn't this the line for Metallica?
My friend hurt herself doing crossfit. Tore an arm muscle. My coworker hurt his back. Both told me how hardcore their workout was
I giggled at 'hundreds of seconds'.
SirButterstick
Banned
Don't these Crossfit assholes use a dude throwing up as their mascot. Toooooootally Rad 90's Hardcore, dudez.
cuevas. PhD.
Member
I'd pay $200 to workout at SF crossfit. It's all about the quality of the coaches.
entremet
Member
Squats are big lift movement and need as much as stability as possible to perform, like a flat surface. Using a bosu ball is not only silly, but ineffective and dangerous.
This is true. But most trainers tend to stick to machines and dumbbells. It is far easier to teach proper form on these machines than it is to teach compound lifts.
SteveWinwood
Member
Anton Sugar
Member
The dogmatic cult attitude of Crossfit, which frequently disregards actual sports science and embellishes its own virtues, is a big part of why it's so criticized. From the Crossfit White Pages:
Yep. It's super douchey. It's actually a cartoon clown barfing.
Instead of paying 200 bucks a month(WTF!) for a gym membership, just buy a few pieces of equipment and work out at home.
I am working on body weight training, so I bought a pull-up bar that fits in a door frame, made some parrallel bars using PVC Pipe , and bought a pair of gymnastic rings. This is really all I need in order to do a bunch of different exercises. You can do all of this for less than 200 bucks, and you can save the rest of your money for making sure you have a healthy diet for whatever your goals are.
I am working on body weight training, so I bought a pull-up bar that fits in a door frame, made some parrallel bars using PVC Pipe , and bought a pair of gymnastic rings. This is really all I need in order to do a bunch of different exercises. You can do all of this for less than 200 bucks, and you can save the rest of your money for making sure you have a healthy diet for whatever your goals are.
youngplaya21
Member
If you want classes like that, join a Yoga or a public p90x showing or something. Or better yet, an actual workout class. Not some program that condones stupid shit like:
If they just worked on bettering the techniques, then I wouldn't have a problem with crossfit. However, I've never seen anyone get CLOSE to the right form when doing crossfit, and when you do shit form with oly lifts it never ends well.
cuevas. PhD.
Member
If you are not trying to gain strength, then ya go for P90x. However, P90X gets boring, and it's not very sustainable or realistic in the long run.
Honestly, if you want to get in good shape. Get yourself a nice bike, and ride the hell out of it. Do Pullups and pushups every other day. You can look online for a decent program for them.
You will be in amazing shape in no time at all.
increasing your heart rate, doing cardio and lifting weight will get you in shape. It doesn't matter how you do it in that sense. People make fun of crossfit because they are doing it in the most inefficient, dangerous way possible. Stay away unless you want to injure yourself pretty seriously in the long run.
Honestly, if you want to get in good shape. Get yourself a nice bike, and ride the hell out of it. Do Pullups and pushups every other day. You can look online for a decent program for them.
You will be in amazing shape in no time at all.
increasing your heart rate, doing cardio and lifting weight will get you in shape. It doesn't matter how you do it in that sense. People make fun of crossfit because they are doing it in the most inefficient, dangerous way possible. Stay away unless you want to injure yourself pretty seriously in the long run.
If you are trying to put muscle. But if you are looking to improve core stabilization and balance, I think doing squats with light weight wouldn't be bad at all.
Now this looks ridiculous and dangerous too.
Not every Crossfit gym is the same.
The one I went to followed the Crossfit Football program (http://crossfitfootball.com), a well put together program that emphasises strength and conditioning, and my coach, Matt, was a great trainer. Proper form was always emphasised, and Matt was more than happy to spend 15-30 minutes after a class going over squat/deadlift/power clean/etc. technique.
It was well worth the $60 a month I was paying for it.
cuevas. PhD.
Member
Why wouldn't loading weight on your back and squatting on the ground give you core stabilization and balance?
If you want classes like that, join a Yoga or a public p90x showing or something. Or better yet, an actual workout class. Not some program that condones stupid shit like:
If they just worked on bettering the techniques, then I wouldn't have a problem with crossfit. However, I've never seen anyone get CLOSE to the right form when doing crossfit, and when you do shit form with oly lifts it never ends well.
See, what the people are pro-crossfit are saying is that there are some good and some bad gyms and instructors, and yes you shouldn't be doing stupid shit like in those gifs. Then guys like you post more gifs of assholes flopping like fish and say "LOOK AT THIS I TOLD YOU!"
To be honest I've never seen anything that ridiculous in person, but okay.
I've never seen the value in those specialized "core stabilization" exercises, and I honestly think they all stem from misunderstanding of the function of the abs and lower back (though obviously, the misunderstanding could be all on my side).
In my experience, none of it is needed for anything, compound lifts and running/swimming (or even walking) will take care of all of it and do it much more effectively.
Let me ask you this, what practical benefits do you think you are getting from those type of exercises?
What do you think will happen if you stop doing them tomorrow?
It does, very well even.
It would at a much higher weight load.
I've never done any squats in bosu balls, so I can't really comment if they work or not. What I've done is exercises that use stuff like med balls and swizz stability balls, and I've definitely felt that being out of balance engages the muscle in your body more and improves balance and range of motion.
thesoapster
Member
Very true, and I think this is a real problem when it comes to recommending it or not.
The one I did a trial with was actually quite good and they focused on doing workouts properly. It murdered me pretty quickly. That said, this place was $140/mo, and that's still not worth it to me.
I've been told the other Crossfit place in town has considerably worse trainers and you're more likely to be injured due to some bullshit thing there.
negreenfield
Member
It seems there has been a trend in the last 7 years to add destabilization to weighted (and body weighted) exercises. You see it with all the Bosu and ballance board products and you even see it in football where players lift with chains swinging from the barbell. I am genuinely interested to know if there are any studies on the effectiveness of "working the stabilizer muscles".
Edit: wikipedia article for BOSU references two studies that show no difference between doing exercises on BOSU and on solid ground.
triplestation
Member
what a scam holy shit
200
200
If you want to improve core stability, do heavy squats. Squatting on an unstable surface is not a good way to get a stable midsection, but squatting 350 pounds is.
If you're looking for balance, do agility drills.
A good article to read for everyone here:
http://www.mensjournal.com/magazine/everything-you-know-about-fitness-is-a-lie-20120504
I've found that even merely printing out a good fitness calendar helps me keep a good regimen. I use the P90x calendar to keep track of my workouts and it's helped me a lot. That plus setting a challenge or goal to reach (e.g. "if I work out X times per week for a month, I win X prize") really helps...though for that you need a good fitness buddy or significant other to provide the incentive.
entremet
Member
Best things for the core are heavy good mornings, conventional squats and deadlifts, and weighted crunches. Power lifters have the strongest cores of most athletes and that's what they do.
I think the problem is, a novice won't be able to tell the difference between a good Crossfit gym and a bad Crossfit gym.
I did a lot of reading up about Crossfit, lifting, and programming before ever stepping foot in a Crossfit gym, so I was able to evaluate the gyms I visited and work out which were trash and which were decent.
Most people won't be able to do that.
Goro Majima
Kitty Genovese Member
Do people still do step aerobics? I feel like these workout programs go in cycles over the years.
In my experience, feeling your muscle engaged (or sore for that matter) is a pretty poor indicator to how effective the workout is.
I don't do anything ab specific, I don't think I did a siteup this century, and my core has never hampered any of my big lifts.
But really, you should not accept advice from random people on the internet, go do some reading on this and form an opinion, just don't be dogmatic, the science on these things change all the time.
As far as I know, there isn't, but as I said, the science of these things change all the time.
I mean, I could've swore that you must do stretching after working out or you'll get sore at one point.
Classes is def not a good thing about crossfit. It's dumb. Everyone has different strengths and weaknesses, as a result they shouldn't have the same programming. I don't go up to someone in my powerlifting gym and say wow you are doing deadlift block pulls, I should do them too. I don't because he's probably bad at locking out his deadlift so is working on that, while I am slow off the ground so I do deficit pulls.
Yes this is true. I don't recommend them either. I'd recommend starting strength and Rippetoe videos.
Okay, so here's the problem I have:
Somebody's pullup bar breaks in their living room: LOL MUST BE CROSSFIT
Somebody does a cartwheel and falls: LOL MUST BE CROSSFIT
Some dipshit does some strange hip level front squat: LOL MUST BE CROSSFIT
Montage of bad form deadlifts (some which do appear to be at crossfit gyms): LOL MUST BE CROSSFIT
Is "CrossFit" the new nickname for "being an asshole?"
I have a good friend that is a chiro and he told me that the vast majority of his new patients for the last few years are crossfit terms. He said its amazing the amount of back herniatians he's seen.
Programming is modified and scaled to the abilities of the individual. At least it should be.
I agree with that. Crossfit (as in mixed workouts, high intensity training etc.) itself is fun; as is working with a group of people because you all keep motivate each other. However, this whole "hardcore" attitude ("if you don't trow up you're doing it wrong!") mixed with doing things ASAP (without paying attention to the technique) are very often a staple for Crossfit trainings and that's really dangerous. That's why a good and rational instructor (certified or not) is the most important thing here.
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